Forest School

 

At Torridon we are very proud to offer our children the opportunity to attend Forest school within our school grounds. We originally homed a small outdoor garden space which incorporated a pond and in February  2023 we had a vision to expand the opportunities for our children so took the bold decision to dig up our concrete staff carpark that backed onto the existing garden to create a large open woodland. This project then lead to the children planting over 60 tree saplings in the space courtesy of the Woodland Trust. We have also been lucky enough to be offered trees from the Trees for Streets scheme to enhance our school environment. 

Forest School is a child-centred learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term programme that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. Forest School develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting.

The process helps and facilitates more than knowledge-gathering.  It helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually.

Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. Our approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues, building self-belief and resilience. 

We offer weekly sessions throughout the academic year to every Nursery ,Reception and Resource Base child enabling them to develop their life skills. We rotate sessions  for our KS1 children on a term basis. We also have a weekly after school club which runs throughout the academic year which is open to KS1 and KS2 children to join.